Deborah OConnor December 9, 2013

The holidays are here. Everyone is in a good mood, happiness and kindnessabound, ‘tis the season to be merry. Wrong! In reality, apprehension and panic seem to be the rule. People tend to rush, lose their tempers, and are on the edge of panic. Couples argue more during the holidays. Thepressure to get all your shopping done, mail out holiday cards, attendholiday parties, decorate your home, be prepared for visitingrelatives—no wonder we’re in a panic. There is just so much to do and so little time to accomplish everything. And added to this are theeveryday normal things, such as getting kids to school, getting to workon time, doctor’s appointments, picking up children from daycare, sports and music lessons. The list goes on. Here is a list of the top fauxpas.

• Aggressive drivers. Due to shopping, trafficincreases considerably and normal everyday defensive drivers turn intocrazed maniacs. The roads are over-crowded and tempers flair. And inmuch of the country, inclement weather can make driving downrightdangerous.
• Financial woes. There is a lot of pressure to spend more during the holiday season than any other time of the year.People go into debt and often find themselves in trouble financially inthe new year.
• Holiday parties. People tend to drink moreand manners seem to disappear. Double-dipping crackers and chips intodips and coughing and sneezing without covering your mouth lead to morecoughs and colds.
• Depression abounds. There is no doubtthat depression is at an all-time high during the holidays. The stressand strain of it all puts many people into a funk that is hard todispel.
• Shopping. There is an increase in rudeness tosalespeople. Everyone wants to be helped and there are never enoughworkers to go around. People have meltdowns and shove, push, and curseto get what they want. Common decency seems to have disappeared and thenorm is shrill, rude behavior.
• Visiting relatives. Itseemed like such a good idea to invite your eight relatives to stay with you and your family for a week. Around day two tempers start to flair,quarters seem to shrink, and conditions are soon claustrophobic. Whenthe weather is cold, snowy and rainy you can be cooped up together fordays.
• Traveling. For some reason, traveling is quitedifficult during the holidays. Large crowds, cancelled flights, sleeping in an airport, lack of privacy, whiny children, bad tempers, and abah-humbug attitude add to the misery.
• Dining out. Restaurants are over-crowded during the holidays. Staff is over-worked, space islimited, bad service seems to be the norm, and that happy, merry feeling is rare. Kids can be noisy and out-of-control and diners seem to thinkthis is a good time to be on their phones, talking loudly and in general bothering other patrons.

How do we bring the merry back to the holidays? There are things you can do to make things easier and more pleasant.

• Limit traveling and visitors. Take turns going to each other every other year. You just traveled over Thanksgiving and don’t need the stress of going again so soon.
• Don’t cook a huge holiday meal that you know will stress you out. Have visitors bring dishes and consider preparing simple dishes.
• Control your spending. Be frugal and enjoy the simple things. Remember, small children havetaught us that the box is oftentimes more fun than the gift.
• Organization is a must. Use your time wisely. Shop online when possible and get free shippingat most sites and avoid the crowds. Make a list of all you need toaccomplish and create a budget and stick to it. Prioritize andcategorize your shopping. There are deals and coupons everywhere so take advantage of them. The Sunday paper is a good source of sales andcoupons.

Hurry up by slowing down in this rushed andover-worked season. Bring back kindness, patience, and humanity and thetrue reason of the holiday season and remember the importance of familyand friends.

Please feel free to send questions to Deborah at: www.successfulimage.biz.
She will answer them in her weekly column.


Deborah O’Connor is a social strategist and founder and president of Successful Image LLC with offices in Columbia and Atlanta. She offers training and seminars on image management, workplace etiquette, and social skillsnecessary to succeed in life professionally and personally. Contactat:  [email protected]        www.successfulimage.biz